My copy of the TBX-6 schematic I have is too large to send as an attachment. I will send you a separate email directly with a link to access a folder on my cloud driver so you can download. Think the relevant stuff on the receiver plug is pin 42 -3 volts for
the filament at around 330 Ma, I used a couple D cell batteries in series for this. It's a bit of a load on them, but D cells are not hard to come by. Pin 41 +90 volts for the screens, pin 51 +135 for the plate supply. That only draws ten or twelve Ma. I have
done this with fifteen 9-volt batteries in series before without issue. Pin 48 -6 volts used to bias the audio output tube. Pin 49 -12 volts used to provide bias (RF gain control) for the IF and Mixer with pin 50 being the return or common for all the batteries.
I recall that I used one 9-volt battery for both and did a small voltage divider with a decoupling cap. The bias supplies draw almost no current under normal conditions. The thing to watch out for is if there is any leakage on the decoupling capacitors in
the radio (C207,219 and 228) and also check C236 and C238, that's the big cap right under the receiver because when any of these get leaky that may waste a lot of voltage, small leaks in the gain control(bias) system make a big difference.
The transmitter wants +500 on pin 65, +12 at 700 Ma on pin 64 for the tube filament and +12 volts on pin 66 for the audio bias for the microphone and modulator. Pin 63 is the ground or return.
The early TBX is a true receiver / transmitter not being a transceiver in a sense as the receiver and transmitter are completely separate. The only place the two come together is the T/R switch. The battery pack for the receiver has nothing to do with the transmitter
section, and the crank generator only powers the transmitter.
I will be putting together a power supply for the receiver at some point built around one of those cheap DC to DC Boost converters for the 90- and 135-volt supply and a DC-to-DC Voltage Regulator Buck Converter for the 3-volt supply and a 9-volt battery for
the bias voltages with the whole mess running from twelve volts. I know I can do the 3-volt feed from a linear regulator or a voltage divider network, but the little Buck Converters are way more efficient and only cost under $4 each. Been using the DC to DC
Boost kits that are under $10 each for a while now and looking for an excuse to try the Buck regulator in a project.
Ray F/KA3EKH
Well, I certainly do not take AI query results as gospel even when they are accompanied by linked references.
What I currently need is a good scan of a TBX-6 manual or at least a good scan of the schematic. The schematic file I have, created in 2005 is very poor and out of focus.
I'll keep looking.
Clare
On Wed, Oct 21, 2026 at 5:06 PM Hubert Miller via Milsurplus <
[email protected]> wrote:
I think it's possibly problematical to rely on AI as the ultimate authority at this time.
-Hue Miller